Office of Intergovernmental Affairs State, Local, and Tribal Leaders – Thank you to the State, local, and Tribal leaders who joined for the White House COVID-19 National Briefing Call on Wednesday, July 8. Attendees heard comprehensive updates and insights on continuing support for State, local, and Tribal response, recovery, and reopening efforts from Larry Kudlow (Assistant to the President for Economic Policy), Secretary Robert Wilkie (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs), Ambassador Deborah Birx (White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator), U.S. Surgeon General Gerome Adams, Deputy Surgeon General Erica Schwartz, and Assistant Secretary Frank Brogan (U.S. Department of Education). Below, please find pertinent announcements from across the Federal family and a brief recap of yesterday's call, including information and guidance from the White House Summit on Reopening America’s Schools. We would also like to flag CDC’s online testing resource page where you can find up-to-date testing information. Recent Announcements Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Extended Through August: On July 4, President Trump signed legislation (S. 4116) reauthorizing the Paycheck Protection Program through August 8, 2020. Enacted in March as part of the CARES Act, the $669 billion program has approved more than 4.8 million loans totaling more than $520 billion and supporting over 51 million jobs to date. The extension of the program through August will make available the remaining $134 billion to small businesses and qualifying entities. Learn more about the PPP here. Department of the Treasury’s OIG released reporting requirements for CRF recipients: On July 2, Department of the Treasury’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a memorandum with instructions for recipients of the CARES Act’s Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF). The OIG memorandum provides instructions for CRF recipients for record keeping and reporting. As stated in the CARES Act, Treasury’s OIG is responsible for monitoring and oversight of the CRF payments. Please note that the first quarterly report is due on July 17. For questions on the memorandum or for help with the reporting requirements please contact Treasury OIG at [email protected]. U.S. Department of the Treasury Issues Updated Coronavirus Relief Fund FAQ’s for States, Tribes, and Local Governments: On June 24, Treasury released an updated list of Frequently Asked Questions regarding the distribution and use of Coronavirus Relief Fund funds. Among other new guidance, the updated Q/A provides that States, Tribes, and localities can use Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars for the 25% FEMA cost share. The updated FAQ’s can be found here. More information on the Coronavirus Relief Fund can be found here. • Note Treasury’s July 8 revisions regarding whether CRF payments can be used to cover increased administrative leave costs of public employees who could not telework in the event of a stay at home order or a case of COVID-19 in the workplace. Per the updated FAQ’s, “the statute requires that payments be used only to cover costs that were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020. As stated in the Guidance, a cost meets this requirement if either (a) the cost cannot lawfully be funded using a line item, allotment, or allocation within that budget or (b) the cost is for a substantially different use from any expected use of funds in such a line item, allotment, or allocation. If the cost of an employee was allocated to administrative leave to a greater extent than was expected, the cost of such administrative leave may be covered using payments from the Fund.” FEMA Releases Guidance on Federal Cost Share for Public Assistance Program: On July 2, the Federal Emergency Management Agency released clear guidance on how FEMA will treat the multiple sources of funding as they relate to the public assistance program and its cost share requirements. Generally, funding from other federal agencies cannot be used to meet the FEMA public assistance non-federal cost share requirement. For COVID-19, however, there are two exceptions: Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) dollars – mentioned above – and Department of House and Urban Development’s Community Disaster Block Grant (CDBG-CV). Department of Education Launches New Student-Centered Grant Competition to Spur Short-Term Education Opportunities: U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced a new higher education discretionary grant program designed to provide students the opportunity to develop new skills, provide innovators and inventors the resources to expand existing businesses or build new ones, and encourage institutions of higher education to foster business development and innovation as America begins to recover from COVID-19-related disruptions to education and our economy. The CARES Act provided $307.5 million for discretionary grants, which the Secretary has chosen to divide between two competitions: $127.5 million for the Reimagine Workforce Preparation Grant and $180 million for the Rethink K-12 Education Models Grant. Indian Health Service Announces National Expansion of the Community Health: The Indian Health Service is announcing the national expansion of the Community Health Aide Program. The program provides education and training of tribal community health providers to increase access to quality health care, health promotion and disease prevention services. As an expansion of the Alaska Community Health Aide Program, the national CHAP will be consistent with the Alaska model and will foster innovative service delivery for the IHS by augmenting the existing workforce with mid-level paraprofessionals, utilizing culturally competent providers, and providing workforce development opportunities for locally developed staff. EPA Approves First Surface Disinfectant Products Tested on the SARS-CoV-2 Virus: Throughout the COVID-19 public health emergency, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has worked to provide the American public with information about how to safely and effectively kill the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, on surfaces. On July 6, EPA approved two products, Lysol Disinfectant Spray (EPA Reg No. 777-99) and Lysol Disinfectant Max Cover Mist (EPA Reg No. 777-127), based on laboratory testing that shows the products are effective against SARS-CoV-2. “EPA is committed to identifying new tools and providing accurate and up- to-date information to help the American public protect themselves and their families from the novel coronavirus,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “EPA's review of products tested against this virus marks an important milestone in President Trump’s all of government approach to fighting the spread of COVID-19." HHS Launches ‘Surge’ COVID-19 Testing in Hotspot Jurisdictions in Florida, Louisiana and Texas: On July 7, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced free COVID-19 testing in Jacksonville, Florida; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Edinburg, Texas. Surge testing efforts will temporarily increase federal support to communities where there has been a recent and intense level of new cases and hospitalizations related to the ongoing outbreak. The three jurisdictions identified are seeing significant increases in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations and could potentially benefit from additional opportunities to identify new cases, especially for people who are asymptomatic. HHS, DOD Collaborate with Novavax to Produce Millions of COVID-19 Investigational Vaccine Doses in Commercial-Scale Manufacturing Demonstration Projects: On July 7, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Defense (DoD) yesterday jointly announced a $1.6 billion agreement with Novavax, Inc. of Gaithersburg, Maryland, to demonstrate commercial-scale manufacturing of the company’s COVID-19 investigational vaccine. By funding this manufacturing effort, the federal government will own the 100 million doses of investigational vaccine expected to result from the demonstration projects. This step builds toward the Trump Administration’s Operation Warp Speed goal to begin delivering 300 million of doses of safe and effective vaccine to the American people in 2021. HHS, DOD Collaborate with Regeneron on Large-Scale Manufacturing Demonstration Project of COVID-19 Investigational Therapeutic Treatment: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Defense announced an agreement with Regeneron, Inc. of Tarrytown, New York, to demonstrate commercial-scale manufacturing of the company’s COVID-19 investigational anti-viral antibody treatment, REGN-COV2. By funding this manufacturing effort, the federal government will own the doses expected to result from the demonstration project. NIH launches Clinical Trials Network to Test COVID-19 Vaccines and Other Prevention Tools: The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has established a new clinical trials network that aims to enroll thousands of volunteers in large-scale clinical trials testing a variety of investigational vaccines and monoclonal antibodies intended to protect people from COVID-19. The COVPN is a functional unit of “Operation Warp Speed,” a partnership led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to invest in and coordinate the development, manufacturing and distribution of COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. More here. White House, VA Launch REACH, a Call to Action to Engage the Nation in Preventing